Out of the Blue
by heartofsteele
Summary: When Leo crosses paths with a beautiful blonde in the midst of a night mission, he comes face to face with a woman he hasn't seen in years, while Raegan Pike, who finds herself once again saved by that pair of unforgettable blue eyes, ends up falling into Leo's world a lot deeper than either of them thought possible…
1. Prologue

Out of the Blue-Prologue

_4 years ago…_

"Mom! C'mon! We're going to be late!" A voice called out excitedly as a beautiful teenage girl looped her arm through her mother's and sped up slightly. Her mom went along with her, laughing the entire way. "Where's Dad going to meet up with us?"

"All right, Raegan! Calm down!" her mother shook her head. "We'll make it on time! Your dad will understand if we are a bit late…I had a lot of work to do. He said he'll see us at his shop…he's been pretty busy today, so he's closing later than usual." Raegan nodded to her, humming a song she had heard on the radio earlier that day in her bright mood. They walked for another three blocks before they saw the bright lights from the televisions in her father's electronics shop. She let go of her mother, breaking into a run when she saw her father standing there in the doorway of his shop, waving goodbye to a customer carrying away a stereo.

"Dad!" she exclaimed happily. He turned around right in time to catch her in his arms, and he smiled as his daughter hugged him.

"Rae! How was school?" he asked with a wide grin.

"Meh, it was school. Chemistry was awesome though! We had a substitute today and learned how certain chemicals can cause mutation, like nitrous acid and deaminating agents and stuff!" She didn't notice how her father froze in complete fear, his eyes glancing around them nervously.

"Raegan, what was the name of your sub?" he demanded.

"Uhm…I think Mr. Sako or Saki…I dunno, he was Japanese or something…he asked us if we knew what mute…uhm…darn it…oh oh! Mutagen! Yeah…he asked if we knew what it was…I told him what you told me last year when I was reading that book! He seemed to like my answer…he kept calling on me in class, and he held me back after class, told me I should consider an internship with some company…I forgot the name, but he gave me the card. It's in my pocket!" she shrugged and kept blabbering on about her day in Chemistry. As her mother walked up, her father pulled her aside and began to whisper in urgent, hushed tones. Raegan tried to listen to them, only catching a few words like "mutants" and "Shredder" and "hide." She frowned in frustration, her ears straining until her mother walked back over to her and placed a dollar in her hand.

"Sweetie, why don't you go grab a snack from Mr. Byron's market across the street? I'll be right here watching you," the older woman suggested. The young blonde took the money with a raised brow and made her way carefully across the street. A glint of metal caught her eye, and she stopped to take a look. It had come from the hole in the ground where the sewers were. She waited for a few moments and then saw it. It was a streak of green moving quickly on the other side of the slit in the ground. With a tilt of her head, she gasped and jumped back when something big struck the bars there. A car horn let her know that she was about to get run over, so she leapt out of the way just in time; however, in doing so, she tripped over her feet and fell to the ground, her money slipping out of her hand. Her eyes followed it as it weaved in the wind and fell in between the bars of the sewer.

"Aww no!" Raegan huffed. Glancing back at her mother, she could see that she was in a heated discussion with her father, both of them looking quite scared. With a dejected sigh, she turned back around, only to find the dollar sitting there, safe and sound. She inched closer, hearing something that sounded like a grunt and an "Oof!" before kneeling on the ground and taking the dollar. She peeked inside the bars and could have sworn she saw a set of striking baby blue eyes staring back at her. She watched them stare at her for a few tense moments before the eyes disappeared, and she blinked in absolute confusion before it hit her.

"He's back…" she muttered to herself, raking a hand through her hair as she stood up. Since she was a little girl, she would visit her father's shop and listen to the newest music on the radio and dance around with her friends on the street. There were a few times she thought that she saw something in the sewers, such as a flash of green, loud noises and sometimes voices, and those blue eyes that seemed to smile back at her. When she was younger, no one thought that she was insane, just a girl with an overactive imagination and imaginary friends. It had been adorable back then.

But as she grew up and got to be a teenager, whenever she told her mother that she saw those eyes again, she would be told to stop imagining things, to grow up, or that she had to keep those kinds of comments to herself if she didn't want to go to the mental ward in a straightjacket. Okay, so maybe her best friend warned her about the straightjacket thing, but her mother was concerned for her mental health, so she stopped bringing up the subject of the "Sewer Friends." She had begun to think that there was a few screws loose in her mind after all, until she saw them again just a few moments ago.

"Raegan?" her mother called out to her, and she returned to her mother without having bought anything. "Where's your snack?"

"My dollar fell on the ground in the mud," she half-lied, biting the inside of her lip.

"Well, your father has to go grab one more thing in his shop, and then he's closing down for the night," Mrs. Pike explained, tucking a hair behind her daughter's ear.

"And then to the show?" Raegan smiled.

"Uhm, no darling…we have a change of plans, actually…we can't go to the show tonight…"

"What? Why not, Mom?" Raegan asked with a distressed pout, searching for a legitimate reason. "I've been wanting to see it for months!"

"We can't talk about it right now," her mother answered brusquely, cutting off any further arguments. "But we have to leave." As she said this, Mr. Pike came rushing out of the store, his eyes furtive as they stole glances around him. He was in the process of locking the doors when a van came squealing around the corner. Gunshots started to ring out, and the crowd on the streets immediately sprang into chaotic motion. Raegan screamed as a bullet whizzed past her ear, and her mother pushed her to the ground to save her. Raegan's wrist connected full force with the pavement, and she cried out.

"Arlene! It's the Foot! Get Rae out of here, NOW!" Her father was shouting at them as bullets rained down into the crowd. Raegan forced herself to her hands and knees and began to crawl, her head whipping around in every direction to figure out where to go. Innocent people were falling to the ground left and right, blocking her way. Her eyes were wide as she witnessed the gruesome scene around her. Foot Clan soldiers were killing mercilessly, and she screamed as Mr. Byron was gunned down right in front of his shop for trying to fight them off. This wasn't happening…it couldn't be happening…she didn't want to die.

"You!" she froze when a gun was pointed in her face, and she shook her head with a hysterical sob. "Get up. You're coming with us." A hand grabbed her arm tight, cutting off her circulation, and she instinctively kicked out and fought back. He picked her up by yanking her head, and she yelped in pain.

"No! Rae!" her mother slammed her elbow into a man in black who was starting to grab for her as well, and she ran towards her daughter. She watched with a horrified feeling in her gut as a hulking man in all black, who was wearing a mask, held up a gun and pulled the trigger at her mother.

"MOM! NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as her mother fell limp and lifeless to the ground, thrashing around in the man's arms behind her, even though it was useless. He was much stronger than she was. And then, just as suddenly as she was in the man's grasp, she was on the ground, unable to breath. Her father had shot the man, so she had been thrown to the ground just as another bullet grazed her upper right arm. The masked man turned and started moving towards her father, who stood there with the gun in his hand. Raegan sat up shakily, feeling quite faint but not wanting to stay where she was. When she could stand again, she caught her father's gaze. It was a look that said, "Run." Moments later, he rushed the masked man, who turned the gun's aim towards Rae.

She began to back away, closing her tear-filled eyes, and then a flash of green struck her hard. She screamed as she felt arms wrapping around her, and together she and her savior soared a good ten feet away from the bullets that had been meant for her. Just as she thought that she would hit the pavement and become roadkill, the movement through the air stopped, and she only felt a slight jolt. She felt the muscles of the body that held her tightly and shook, unable to stop the utter fear from overtaking her.

"Hey, hey! You're safe, Rae," a gentle voice soothed her, the arms loosening but not releasing her yet. It took a moment for the shaking to subside, and once it did, the hold on her was gone. She shivered once, her body now devoid of that warmth, and opened her eyes to stare right into those piercing blue eyes. They were full of concern and a strange fury.

"Oh my God…" she breathed, her lip quivering. "It's…it's…you…you saved my life…" She didn't look into his eyes for long, though, as she heard the screeching of car tires and looked up to see the van leaving. Standing, she turned to look around for her father and saw that he had been pulled unconscious into the van with the rest of the Foot soldiers. Feeling the terror bubble up into her throat, she started to run towards the moving vehicle but stumbled and fell to her knees. The door shut as the car rounded the corner, and she cried out when she saw her mother laying there. Her parents were gone. Both of them. She spun back around weakly with a sob to thank her protector, but he was gone, disappearing into the night like a forgotten shadow.


	2. It's Never Too Late

Chapter 1: It's Never Too Late

A large ball of green muscles and shell sat up with a start, a short cry escaping it before reality set back in. It had just been a dream.

"All right there, Leo?" his younger brother Donatello asked worriedly as he pushed his glasses back up onto his nose when they began to slip. Leonardo sighed and wiped his forehead with his arm, remaining silent but nodding. He dreamt about her again. He hadn't seen that beautiful girl in years. He didn't even know if she was still alive, but here he was, having nightmares about the night that had taken her away from him.

"Yeah, I'm good," he responded wearily, stretching his arms above his head and yawning.

"Ya had that nightmare again?" Raphael grumbled as he cracked his neck and stood up from his bed. Mikey came barreling past him, always the biggest bundle of energy in the mornings.

"It's always the same. I dream about that night...it's more like a subconscious memory..." he explained.

"You mean when you went above ground when you weren't supposed to so that you could save that hot chick?" Mikey asked suddenly, poking his head into the conversation and causing Raph to shush him. Leo sent Mikey a glare that silenced him.

"It wasn't even like that. She would have died," he defended her honor, as his brothers knew he would.

"Have you told Sensei yet?" Donnie wanted to know, taking out his retainer and setting it in his case.

"No. He was furious the first time. I tend to not bring up that night with him," the eldest brother frowned thoughtfully as he stood up and began to pace to calm himself down. He had been curious about her safety and her whereabouts ever since he kept her from being shot that night. Her face ran through his mind, and his pulse sped up impulsively. _Rae..._Gods, he missed watching her joyful nature as she bounced around her dad's electronics shop and talked about that "friend" of hers. _Oh, if they all only knew...__she was quite sane after all..._He smirked to himself for a moment.

"My sons." All four brothers turned when they heard their father's calm tone, and they turned to face him.

"Good morning, father," Leo stepped forward first, bowing respectfully with a smile. His brothers followed right after him, all bowing and waiting for him to speak.

"Leo, your dreams are bothering you?" he asked somberly, and Leo was taken aback.

"How did you know?" he asked, incredulous.

"I told you he was a Jedi!" Mikey stated with wide eyes.

"Or I was listening at the doorway..." Splinter raised a brow at his youngest child, shaking his head with a small smile. Everyone laughed a bit before Splinter gestured to Leo. "Let us talk," he turned to the others. "Why don't you three start training, and we will meet you in a few moments." When they were gone, Leo fell in step with his sensei.

"I remember that night you first went above ground...Raphael tried to cover for you while you snuck out. He has never been a good liar..." Splinter began.

"Well, he wears his emotions on his sleeve, Master," Leo smiled. "Mikey was too little to really understand, and Donnie had to help me get out."

"And when you came back, you looked different," the rat glanced over at his son, who fell silent once more as his face slightly hardened. "You never told me the full story of what happened that night. All Raphael said was that there was a girl."

"Yes, Sensei. She was in danger. If I wouldn't have gone up there, she would've been killed. I felt like I had to," Leo looked up at him.

"And who was this girl that was so important?" Splinter inquired curiously, never raising his voice.

"Her name was Raegan. I kept watch over her as we both grew up. Her father owned that electronics store across the street. The Foot attacked her family that night...that's why I had to save her..."

"I know you, Leo..." Splinter's eyes followed his son's actions as his shell hunched down, and he looked depressed and guilty. "And I know that you wouldn't disobey me unless you felt that it was a true emergency." Leonardo's expression was truly shocked as he made eye contact with his father. "She lost her mother and her father, though. I didn't make it in time to save them..."

"Do not blame yourself for circumstances you cannot control, my son. So tell me...if you saved her life, why do you still have nightmares?"

"I haven't seen or spoken to her since that night. I never got to know if she was all right. I don't know if she's safe..." Leo's words began to jumble together as he became nervous and started to pace again. His father gazed at him for a long moment before taking a deep breath and clasping his paws together in front of him.

"Then why don't you look for her? Get Donnie's help, try to make sure that she is all right. Maybe if you see her alive and well, you may be able to sleep." Leo was floored by his father's recommendation.

"Dad, why are you telling me to go above ground? I thought you were angry about this," he spoke quietly, though on the inside, he was jumping with excitement at the thought of possibly seeing Rae again.

"I had been at the time. However, after seeing how well your brothers and you handled the outside world with April and Shredder last month, I am ready to let you take on more missions. This seems important to you, so I think you should do this. But do not leave until night time and be extremely careful, my son. You are the leader. You need to make decisions that are best for all of you."

"I understand, Sensei," Leo responded, nodding his head before leaving his father to go tell his brothers that they were going to find one of the only people who knew that they were real. Hopefully she was still out there and alive.

* * *

"Shit! Where's my other boot?" A petite redhead giggled at the sight of a rear end sticking out of a closet as her friend's muffled voice carried out to her.

"Rae, have you checked the dog's mouth?" she asked teasingly, shaking her head at her room mate. Rae's head popped out suddenly as she spun around just in time to see her dog running around the corner and out of sight.

"No, no, no! Pongo! Damn it!" she groaned as she got up and limped with one shoe on and one shoe off after her border collie who thought she was trying to play with him. "Bad boy! Gimme the shoe!" The dog shook it in his mouth, prompting another groan from her as she lunged at him. He jumped out of the way, sending her sprawling to the floor after him. She sent him a death glare and latched onto the shoe, launching into a five minute game of tug of war. When she finally got the shoe back, it was covered in drool and small scratches from Pongo's teeth.

"You are lucky that these shoes are tough as nails," she grumbled under her breath as she pulled it onto her foot. She looked over to see her room mate, Erin, bent over in a fit of giggles. "What?"

"That was the most amusing thing to happen all week..." Erin replied with another loud laugh. A few seconds later, a pillow struck her softly in the face, and Rae was shooting her a mock glare but laughing as well. Rae stood up straight and kissed her dog softly on the nose before grabbing her coat and scarf and wrapping herself up to keep warm.

"I'll see y'all later!" she headed out the front door and down out of the apartment building, glancing around her at the busy street. She started off at a brisk walk to the subway station two blocks away, humming one of her favorite songs. She waved to people she knew when they passed by but kept going. School wasn't going to wait for her just because she decided to ask her neighbor if she had enjoyed the newest movie in the theaters. She moved with the bustling crowds down the stairs and onto the subway train, taking a seat and grabbing her book from her purse since it would be a twenty minute ride to school.

"Excuse me, miss?" She glanced up from the page she had begun to read, a little startled but smiling anyway at the man who had spoken. "Is there anyone sitting here?" When she shook her head, he smiled and sat down next to her. She silently returned to her book, hoping that he wasn't the talkative kind, as she wanted to make a decent dent in the book, _Molecular Genetics_. The ride was quiet and relaxing for the first fifteen minutes, and then he finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry...I don't mean to interrupt your reading, but I couldn't help but notice that tattoo. It's pretty sweet," he commented, gesturing to her right arm. She glanced to where he pointed, right underneath her scar where a set of gorgeous blue eyes with a green background had been placed a few months ago. She smiled at it for a moment, lost in her own thoughts, before she realized that he was staring at her intently.

"Oh, sorry!" she laughed awkwardly. "Thanks..."

"What's it from?" he asked as he leaned in to take a closer look. She had no idea why, but she was beginning to feel nervous.

"Oh...a friend of mine...he died four years ago..." she lied to him, frowning. Well, a part of it wasn't a lie. She didn't actually know whether or not he was still alive. The stranger looked down at her book and then back up at her face and raised a brow, giving her a face that almost seemed like a smirk, and it gave her pause.

"I'm sorry to hear it," the man's expression was somber again, and it calmed her down somewhat. Maybe she was over-analyzing it. It wouldn't be the first time.

"Thanks," she replied quickly, chewing in the inside of her lip as they made eye contact, and she tried to ignore the feeling of dread she received when she looked at him. The subway stopped, and the doors opened.

"Of course. Well, this is me..." he stood up and began walking out to the platform. If she didn't have decent hearing, she would've missed the next thing he told her, "I'll see you around, Raegan." The doors shut, and the train began moving as she sat rooted to her chair, staring back until the platform was out of sight. He knew her name. How did he know her name? She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she almost missed her stop. She rushed out of the doors before they shut on her and took a deep, calming breath. If she didn't stop, she was going to have a panic attack. Not everyone was out to get her. He probably saw her name on her bag or something. Shaking her head, she cleared him out of her head and headed up back into daylight. Across the street, her university was hopping with other students trying to head to class just like her. With a smile, she jogged into the Science building, eager to present her thesis on genetic mutation to the rest of her Chemistry 103 class.

* * *

Hours later, Donnie plugged away at his keyboard, eyes plastered on the screens in front of him while he mumbled nonsense to himself. Leo and Raphael came back into the den from the training room , both slightly out of breath. Raphael was smirking in satisfaction.

"I won that time," he gloated, sitting down on their couch made from pizza boxes and propping his large feet up. Leo wiped his forehead with a towel and chuckled, throwing it at his younger brother, who dodged it easily.

"I'm not focused today. You wait until tomorrow," he promised as he walked to where Mikey was making a mixed CD for April. "Mike...what are you doing?"

"Making something special for my girl," the youngest brother answered simply with a shrug.

"No more 'Happy Together' junk," Leo told him with a roll of his eyes.

"Mikey, give it up, man," Raphael said gruffly.

"You're just jealous that she is into the Mike-Machine! No Hulk-lovin' for O'Neil!" Two seconds later, Mikey was running around the den, Raph chasing him down and throwing anything that wasn't breakable.

"You know...you're just...proving...my...point...Gah!" Mikey gasped in between ducking his brother's rage.

"Yahtzee!" Donnie cried triumphantly, and Leo whipped his head around, forgetting about the feud behind him.

"What's up, Donnie?" he demanded.

"She's alive! I looked her up on the online phone book. She also has a personal blog, and I have found and hacked into her phone to get her last GPS location," the tech geek stated proudly, cleaning off his glasses. To say that Leo looked relieved was an understatement, as his face perked up, and he spun Donnie away from the computer to take a look at it himself. Donnie squeaked and pulled himself back towards the monitors using the table. Leo ignored him for the moment, his attention drawn to the NYU school ID that had popped up in front of his face. Here was evidence that she didn't die that night. According to the information he was reading, she was at NYU for some kind of science and she took night classes.

"Wait...what is that?" he pointed to the screen, where several dots blinked. Donnie typed quickly, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"I have been tracking Foot Clan activity for about a week now, to see if they are planning anything big. That's them on the screen. It looks like there is a group is on the move," he explained.

"Donnie, isn't that where you located Rae's apartment?" Leo looked with wide eyes at where Donnie had pinpointed the apartment complex where they would find Rae, and Donnie gasped. Raph climbed off of Mikey, who was out of breath and crying for mercy, and stood over Donnie's shoulder.

"The Foot Clan is coming for her..."

"Guys, time to go above ground!" their leader called out anxiously, practically running Donnie over to get to the weapons wall. He heard another squeak behind him as Donnie fell out of the chair.

"Damn it, Leo!" He couldn't help but smile while grabbing for his katanas.

"Serves you right for stealing the last piece of pizza last night."


	3. No Ordinary Heroes

Chapter 2: No Ordinary Heroes

Rae practically skipped out of her class. Everyone had loved her thesis. Her teacher even wanted her to further explore the topic and write an even longer thesis at the end of the semester. She was on Cloud Nine. After the past seven years of being fascinated with science and the past four years of busting her butt and being dedicated to her studies, it was finally paying off for her. She knew her parents would be incredibly proud of her. It saddened her to think of them, so she threw herself into any work that was given to her as to drown out the nightmares. She had almost forgotten about the stranger from before on her ride home on the subway train.

The blonde walked into her apartment building, still in a bright mood from her Chemistry class. Her neighbors greeted her as they passed by on her way through the door and towards the stairs. She hummed a song to herself, lost in her own thoughts as she climbed the stairs to the third floor where her apartment was located. A few moments later, she walked down the hall towards her front door while she dug for her keys. Her apartment was tucked away in the corner of the building, and the apartment next to hers was empty. It was a peaceful and quiet place to live, and she liked it that way. She glanced up as her door came into view, keys now in her hand. And then stopped dead in her tracks.

Her front door had been kicked in. Rae began to panic as she remembered that her room mate had been home last time she had talked to her. She placed her keys back in her bag and grabbed her gun instead, taking the safety off and slowly moving towards the door. After what had happened to her parents four years ago, she didn't want to take any chances. The moment she was old enough, she took lessons at a shooting range and obtained a permit to carry a gun. It made her feel safer against attackers, especially because she wasn't physically strong. She stepped over the remaining fragments of her door, peeking in to see if there were any unwelcome visitors before she entered. Her gun in front of her, she finally moved into the entryway and stood staring into her mess of a living room.

_What the hell happened?_ She asked herself internally, trying her best to keep calm. It wouldn't do her any good to freak out right now when Erin could be in danger. Instead of panicking, she maneuvered around and over broken glass and fallen pieces of furniture. Her body broke out in a sweat, her hand with the gun shaking as she walked slowly and hesitantly towards Erin's bedroom. She looked in to see it empty and hardly untouched. Confused and growing scared, she turned to her own bedroom and took a deep breath before going inside.

"No..." she gasped out, the air going out of her lungs quickly. She grabbed onto her dresser for support dropping her gun. Her room and all of her things had been practically destroyed. Pillows were torn and the feathers were laying everywhere. Her television was smashed to smithereens and her clothes were thrown everywhere and torn. Rae stumbled to her knees as she tripped over her overturned chair, and she caught herself with her hands. She yelped in pain as her hands scraped the broken glass on the carpet. She glanced down to see blood but didn't care at that point.

"Rae!" she heard someone yelling her name in panic, and she snapped back to the bone-chilling reality that someone had done this and was still out there. Glancing around for a hiding spot, she began to run towards the closet when something large and dark in color came through her large window. As it straightened up and stood there in the darkness of her bedroom, she screamed as loud as she could and backed away. It put up its hands as if in surrender, but she kept moving away from it. She needed to escape, to get out of there before it could hurt her. When she hit her bedroom door, she spun around and booked it for her front door, only to run into a strong set of arms that held her fast and strong against a chest of bamboo armor.

"Rae!" the worried voice repeated as she cried out and lashed out with her fists. "Stop! I'm not going to hurt you! Hey! Look at me!" He took her face in his hands, feeling her punch him once but not fighting back in order to get her to stare into his face. When she did, she could only freeze up as she looked right into those breathtaking baby blue eyes from her past.

"Y-you..." was all she could manage. "I thought you were dead..."

"And I thought you were too...sorry Raph scared you in there...he's pretty scary first time you meet him..." he spoke softly, keeping her in his embrace, needing to feel her there in his arms and safe. He was terrified that they would get to her apartment and find her dead or missing. However, she was not planning on staying in the hug, as she let her fist fly again and hit him square in the jaw.

"You son of a-" she growled furiously. He held her hands, looking at them in concern with a frown. He tightened his aching jaw, trying to forget the pain of her knuckle. The girl knew how to throw a punch, that was for sure.

"Stop!" he interrupted. "What the hell, Rae? I just told you that we won't hurt you!"

"I think I like this girl already," Raphael smirked jokingly, leaning his hulking frame against the wall and cracking his neck. Both Leo and Rae glared at him in response, and his smirk widened.

"You saved me from that bullet, and then you disappeared..." she whispered, her fight gone suddenly and replaced by hopelessness. She looked into his face with a haunted expression that made him take a step back. "I lost my family that night and then you were gone...I needed something to keep me sane. People wanted to put me away...they thought I was crazy when I talked about you..." Leo's eyes fell to her hands, keeping himself busy and taking care of her to avoid her gaze.

"To be fair, you weren't crazy," he tried to reason.

"And yet, the only ones who knew I was sane vanished," she countered. She winced with a breath through her teeth as he touched her cuts.

"First aid kit?" he asked her, changing the subject. She was silent but nodded her head at the bathroom. Donnie walked to the bathroom and turned on the light, revealing exactly what he was. Raegan stared at the turtle humanoid for a long moment, realizing that she had never seen them in their full forms. She had only seen eyes and flashes of green skin, but now she could see just how crazy she must've sounded to others. If she told people now what they were, she would most certainly be admitted into a mental hospital.

_Maybe I need the vacation..._she thought to herself bitterly. Yet, as she turned her gaze back to stare into Leo's face and her stomach flipped upside down, she knew that they were real and standing right in front of her. And as he took the rubbing alcohol and bandages from Donnie, she knew that she was safe for the moment.

"I'm sorry..." Leo finally spoke again as he began to clean out her wounds. Out of instinct, she almost drew back with a hiss of pain. He covered her hand with his, nodding that it was all right, and she allowed him to draw her hand back towards him. She kept her focus on him as he continued to administer first aid to her hands. "I'm sorry for abandoning you. We couldn't let anyone see us though. We were never allowed to go above ground, and I broke the rule to save you...but I couldn't stay..." His fingers brushed along her wrist as he applied the bandages, and her pulse jumped at the touch.

"What's your name?" she asked suddenly. He glanced up from his job to stare at her, feeling slightly giddy as he caught her staring at him.

"Leonardo...but you can call me Leo..." he introduced himself warmly, prompting the smallest of smiles from her lips. It softened her features and made her look almost like her old, youthful self again. He thoroughly enjoyed her smile.

"I know you know my nickname..." she continued, " but my full name is Raegan..." He nodded.

"Raegan Pike," he smiled at her, and she raised a brow at him inquisitively. "I remember a few years ago, when you almost ran across the street and a car was coming...your mother yelled at you and used your full name..." Rae's eyes crinkled at the edges as she laughed at the memory, and Leo's own smile widened.

"Yes! I was trying to go after an adorable puppy I saw across the street!" she laughed gently, shaking her head.

"And what ever happened to that dog?" Mikey asked, moving closer. He always loved listening to stories.

"I got to keep him...his name is Pongo," she answered, looking at the turtle in the orange mask, who smiled at her. "And you are?"

"Michelangelo! The real deal, Dollface!" he greeted as he used his fingers to make a peace sign. She blinked at him.

"Dollface?" she asked Leo, who shook his head and put a hand over his face.

"Sorry about him," he told her under his breath, prompting a laugh before she looked at the other two. Raphael clicked on the light, bringing all four muscled, mutant turtles into brightness. Normally, she would try to run away, scream, or freak out, but she just stood there sizing them up. And Raphael did the same, eyeing her with a judgmental narrowing of his eyes. Folding her arms, she refused to back down, which caused him to raise a brow and make a noncommittal grunt.

"Hmm...Raphael likes you," Donnie teased as Raphael grabbed a toothpick and stuck it in his mouth, chewing it. "I'm Donatello, though you can call me Donnie!" He took her now bandaged hand in his and leaned down, placing a kiss against it and making her gaze soften.

"He's our tech genius. He's the reason we found you..." Leo spoke, his face falling slightly. "We thought..." He was interrupted by a voice outside of the apartment and a loud bark. Rae's eyes practically bugged out of her head as she looked at the hallway leading to her front door and then at the four inhuman creatures standing there around her.

"Into my bedroom, now! Quiet!" she whispered urgently, shooing them off as quickly as possible. She turned around when they disappeared around the corner just in time to see Pongo bounding inside and towards her. She wrapped her arms around her dog and sighed happily, kissing him several times as her worry for him dissipated.

"Oh my word! What happened?!" she heard the voice of her neighbor down the hallway and glanced up to see the sweet old lady peering in. She stood up, Pongo at her heels as she walked towards the broken door.

"Some idiots broke in and stole a few valuables, Ms. Damiens. I already called the police...it's all right..." she lied to the older woman, who looked at her and nodded.

"All right, dear. If you need anything, I'm right down the hall. You come find me, and I'll give those men a good butt whooping for you." She laughed once as she watched the lady leave and go back to her apartment.

"Coast is clear!" she called out, restraining her dog in case he tried to attack her new friends. The turtles came back out, and Pongo began struggling against Rae's hold. He broke free, and she squeaked as she began to fall towards the glass once more. Leo bounded over and had her against him in two heartbeats. She grabbed onto his arms without thinking to hold herself up, and she stared at the front of his shell, feeling the bamboo armor against her. He pulled her up, and inhaled sharply as her feminine scent invaded his nostrils. Her lips pursed as she stood up straight, and he glanced down at her, hoping that she didn't feel his heart hurtling against his plastron.

"Sorry..." she mumbled quietly. "I have to be more careful." He nodded without saying a word and released her. Mikey was playing with Pongo, whose tail was wagging playfully. She stepped back and then tilted her head at him.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello..." she mused aloud. They all nodded. "Any reason why you share the same names as painters of the Renaissance?"

"I have that same question," Donnie asked, wrinkling his nose to push his glasses back up. "I'll ask April next time we see her!"

"April?" she asked.

"Long story," Leo smiled calmly. She nodded, her attention returning to her destroyed apartment. Leo felt his chest tighten as he witnessed the emotions on her face. Fear, anger, grief, confusion all rolled together in her beautiful features, and he moved towards her a step. She covered her mouth and took a shaky breath, tears springing to her eyes.

"What am I going to do?" she croaked. "My home is ruined...I can't live here anymore...I don't even know who did this. What if they come back?" Leo's anger surged as he glanced at Donnie.

"We know who did this," Donnie supplied, knowing that Leo was too angered to speak. "It's a group of men who call themselves the Foot Clan. We encountered them last month. They're extremely dangerous."

"Those were the men who killed my mother. They took my father," she spoke with disturbing realization. "And now they're back...I thought it was over..." Leo saw her paling face as she began to tremble, and he readily took her into his arms to comfort her. She sank into his warm hold, clutching him closely.

"I will not let them anywhere near you," he promised into her hair, looking up at his brothers, who stood tense and glaring around them. Raphael began scouting the apartment for anyone or anything that could be a threat, while Donnie plugged something into the equipment on his wrist. Mikey stopped bouncing as he came closer.

"He's right, Rae," he told her. "You're safe with us." She nodded against Leo's chest and pulled back slightly, a look of fear on her face.

"I'm scared for my room mate...what if the Foot took her?" she wanted to know, looking around at all of them.

"They didn't take her...because she's one of them..."


	4. A Matter of Trust

Chapter 3: A Matter of Trust

_They didn't take her…because she's one of them…_Raphael's voice boomed fiercely as he came storming out of Erin's bedroom and threw something at Rae's feet, his chest heaving and tense as though he was ready to fight. She glanced down to see pictures spilling out of a folder of her parents with black X's drawn over their faces, and a picture of her with the words "Target Acquired." She stared down, feeling Leo's arms tighten protectively. "You've been living with a Foot member this whole time. It's not safe here. It's never been safe here." Raphael's deep voice shook her as she continued to stare at the lies she had been living with for the last six months.

"Rae?" she heard the gentle voice above her, the chest against her cheek vibrating from the sound.

"Leo…" she mimicked, staring at nothing.

"We need to get you to safety. They didn't find you this time, but they will if we don't leave here now." His voice grew firm and resolute, and he took her hand. "Rae! Did you hear me? We need to go."

"My house…my things…" she spoke, trying to be realistic in her own mind. "What about Pongo?"

"Your life is more important than any of that," Donnie reasoned. Raphael shifted from one foot to another anxiously. "And as for Pongo, we can take him with us." Mikey smiled brightly at that as he continued to stroke the Border Collie's head. Pongo was leaning into his hand and panting.

"Look, Rae…we get it…when your home is destroyed, it's hard…" Raphael spoke gruffly, though not rudely. "We've been there."

"We can give you five minutes to gather up the things you need to and then we need to take you out of here," Leo continued.

"Where are you going to take me?" she asked, her voice almost nonexistent.

"Our home. You will be safe there with us and our father," he answered. She finally looked up into Leo's face, and he stared right back down at her.

"The sewer?" she guessed. "You still live there?" When he nodded, she bit her trembling lip to keep it still. It took her a moment, but she finally nodded back. Leo released her from his hold, but just when she felt her body growing cold again, he slipped his fingers through hers. She grasped his hand with hers and looked up at him.

"It's okay. I'll be right by your side," he encouraged. She led him through the apartment, hesitating at her bedroom door. When she felt his squeeze her hand ever so slightly, it gave her enough courage to step back into the disaster zone and glance around. Leo watched her carefully to make sure she wouldn't get upset again, and when she moved again, he followed close behind.

"There goes my security deposit refund," he heard her mutter under her breath. He stared at her then, tilting his head in confusion as she grabbed a bag and began to pack up whatever clothes and necessities she could fit in it. Leo let her go so that she could use both of her hands to go through her belongings.

"Security deposit?" he asked her blankly. Rae turned to smile at him momentarily, her hair falling across her face as she looked at him. He felt his heart skip a beat. She looked so beautiful standing in front of him.

"It's money you put down right when you buy an apartment to ensure that you won't trash the place. And if you do, that's the money that pays for the repairs. Sometimes, you can get the money refunded as long as you keep the place in amazing shape…" She drifted off, gesturing around her. "I'm not getting a penny of that $500 back…" She became silent, moving around the room to collect things she felt were important, and his heart clenched at the sight of her picking up a photograph of her with her parents. He took a step towards her but stopped, letting her be for a bit. She stared at it and then looked up at Leo.

"I don't understand…" she finally spoke up. "I don't understand why they are after my family…we haven't done anything…" Leo gazed at her with grave empathy.

"That's what we have to find out. Why was your family so important to the Foot? The faster we get back to the lair, the faster we can answer those questions." He nodded his head towards the door and reached for her hand. She allowed him to take hold of her fingers again and grabbed her bag with her free hand, closing it and slinging it onto her back before walking back out into the living room with him. The other three jumped up from where they sat or leaned against walls, on alert once more. Pongo jumped up, his tail wagging and his ears perked up to face his owner.

"Ready?" Raphael asked her, bouncing from one foot to the other and rotating his shoulders. She grabbed the folder from the ground and shoved it into her bag, wanting to look at it further. Mikey pushed open the windows to her fire escape and moved outside, immediately jumping over the side. Rae began to run towards him, her eyes wide.

"It's okay. We land on our fee…" Leo began to stop her when they heard a loud crash on tin and a loud "Crap!" below. He walked onto the fire escape and peered down to see Mikey laying on top of a pile of smashed trash cans. The leader started to laugh, waving Raphael over. Pretty soon, everyone was laughing as they stared down at the clumsy youngest brother.

"Okay, most of the time we land on our feet," Leo corrected himself, still chuckling. Raegan took the stairs, Pongo running on her heels, as the rest of the brothers jumped and leapt nimbly over the side to land next to their brother. Donnie pulled Mikey to his feet and clapped him on the shoulder, shaking his head with another laugh.

Leo helped Rae down from the last two steps, as they were rusty and probably would've collapsed underneath her weight. She felt his hands on her hips as he lifted her off the stair and then lowered her down to the ground in front of him. Her skin warmed to his touch through the shirt, and she swallowed hard. He had set her down, yet his hands lingered there against her for a long minute. He stared at her face, which was turning pink, and he smiled at how soft and feminine she looked and felt.

"Thank you," she stated, sounding out of breath.

"Of course," he responded, his fingers gripping her a little tighter until they heard a moan of pain and broke apart. Rae let out a breath she was holding and walked over to Mikey, putting a hand worriedly on his head.

"Are you okay?" she wanted to know, checking him for any injuries. In response, Mikey gave a friendly laugh and picked her up, spinning her around. She gasped in surprise before her face lightened up.

"I am awesome, my little Rae of sunshine!" he cooed, and she laughed good-naturedly at him. "Get it?"

"Got it," she giggled, her eyes sparkling at him as he set him down.

"I'm always okay! Especially when I'm around gorgeous ladies such as yourself," he continued to flirt shamelessly.

"The jury's still out on that," Raphael watched Mikey with annoyance. He stole a glimpse at Leo, who was staring at the smiling Rae with affection in his eyes. "Hey, Romeo! We've got to keep moving before someone sees us!" Leo snapped back to reality and nodded at him. Mikey picked up the dog and held him close, laughing when the dog licked his face.

"He likes me!" Rae smiled at the youngest brother.

"He loves attention," she replied.

"Let's go!" Leo moved ahead in a flash, and everyone followed. Rae admired his leadership skills as he maneuvered his team with Rae through back streets and through the darkness and shadows where no one could see them. They couldn't move as quickly as usual, though, because of her being with them.

"Okay, opening to the sewer coming up right around this corner! This line will take us straight home!" Donnie reported, glancing at the mini computer on his arm. Leo gave a brusque nod to show that he heard him and fell back until he was running beside the blonde young woman.

"How are you doing?" he asked her, worried that they were going too fast for her.

"I haven't run like this in a long time. I feel great right now," she admitted truthfully with an excited smile. He smiled back at her, his blue eyes gleaming. She had to force herself to stop staring at them and focused back on running. When they all arrived at the sewer, Raph used his strength to pop off the manhole cover, and the turtles began falling in. Raphael would be last, as he had to pull it back into place. Rae felt his strong arms take her and place her down into the hole, waiting until she had a good grip on the ladder before releasing her. She nodded a thanks as she started to descend down into the sewer.

Once again, she felt the heat of Leo's fingers scrape her skin as her shirt rode up against her hip while he lowered her down to him. She couldn't speak, so once again she nodded a thanks, which he returned with an audible sigh. He let her go slowly as they heard the manhole close and Leo pulled her out of the way just in time for Raphael to jump down to their level. They glared at him just a bit, and he shrugged innocently. Everyone headed in the direction Donnie pointed out, who was following his directions as he stared at his wrist. Everyone kept quiet except for the occasional chuckle from Mikey as he played with the dog in his arms.

"Five more minutes of walking this way," Donnie reported.

"Donnie, we know how to get home from here," Leo told him with a raise of his brow.

"Right…I know that," Donnie replied, pushing his glasses up on his nose and looking up ahead of them, mumbling techie stuff to himself. Leo glanced at Rae out of the corner of his eye and saw sadness flicker across her pleasant features.

"What's on your mind?" he prodded.

"What isn't on my mind?" she retorted with a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck. "This is so much to take in all at once…" Leo nodded in understanding.

"I'm sorry that this is happening," he empathized.

"I could've been taken or killed by the same people who killed my mom and kidnapped my father, I was saved both times by mutant turtles, one of them who has these breathtaking blue eyes…" He stopped dead to look square at her, his blue eyes shocked and pleased at the same time. "Forget I said that…"

"Not gonna happen," he teased her, placing a finger against her blushing cheek and stroking it once before dropping his hand. He loved the feel of her delicate skin against his own rough and calloused skin.

"Anyway…" she changed the subject fast, "Now these hero turtles from my past are taking me and my dog to their sewer home, and my room mate was planning on killing me or giving me up, and I am actually not going crazy after all…do you realize how insane this sounds?" Leo stopped her this time, taking her shoulders and looking at her with a stern frown.

"Don't ever think that you're losing your mind. With all of the hell you've been through, don't let anyone tell you that you're not sane, okay?" He let her go when she nodded, and they walked again.

"And now I'm getting ready to meet your father…" she began to speak again.

"Who's a giant mutant rat!" Mikey chimed in, and she stared at him with a gaping mouth and wide, disbelieving eyes. She paused, not taking a step further.

"Uhm…I'm sorry…" she whispered. "Talking turtle in the orange mask say what?" Leo shot Mikey a deadly glare and then looked over at Raphael, who smacked Mikey upside the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"Dude…she's already dealing with enough…you HAD to drop that bombshell on her?" Raph grumbled angrily.

"You didn't have to hit me…" Mikey pouted, rubbing his aching head.

"Yeah…you're right…I could pummel you into the ground…" the bigger brother threatened, and Mikey put one of his hands up in surrender.

"Look, Rae…" Leo tried to search for the right thing to say as to not freak her out. "Our dad is different than us…but also sort of like us…and it's a long story…I just need you to trust me…can you do that? Can you trust me now?" She looked into his worried and uncertain face, and this time, she was the one to take one of his hands in both of hers.

"Leo…I never stopped trusting you," she answered softly. "Lead the way." His gaze became tender and content as he covered her hands and pushed open the door to their home.

"Welcome to our home," he smiled.


End file.
